JOIN USWhistleblower withdraws retirement letter
Vijay Pandhare, whistleblower in the Maharashtra irrigation scam who had sought voluntary retirement earlier in the month, has decided to continue with his services.
Pandhare, chief engineer at the Maharashtra Engineering Training Academy, was due for retirement on November 30, 2013. On November 1, he sought voluntary retirement, distressed by the canard being spread against him by people with vested interests.
Sources disclosed that Pandhare wrote to Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan and the Maharashtra Irrigation Secretary on Friday, stating that he would like to continue in office till 2013.
Pandhare has been in the spotlight after his letters to the chief minister, detailing chinks in the irrigation projects, were leaked to the media. Pandhare’s letters, coupled with the India Against Corruption’s exposé revealing malpractices and irregularities in the irrigation projects, had created a furore in both Maharashtra and Delhi.
In his letters, Pandhare pointed the needle of suspicion on Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, who also held the water resources portfolio, and highlighted the wastage of money and shoddy work carried out in the name of irrigation projects
Talking to Deccan Herald, Maharashtra Gazetted Officers Association general secretary G D Kulthe said: “We met him two days ago and convinced him that it is extremely important that honest officers and engineers do not leave the battlefield. After a lot of deliberation he decided to withdraw his earlier letter seeking voluntary retirement.”